Machine for measuring and cutting off lenghts of fabric.



No. 812,672. IATEN'IED FEB. 13, 1906. J. B. OBRYAN, Ja. a 0. H. RUDOLPH. MACHINE FOR MEASURING AND CUTTING OPI LENGIHS 0I' FABRIC.

APPLIOA'IIION- FILED OUT. 16. 1905.

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l PATENTNN IBB. Is, 1906. I. OBRYNN, Ja. N 0,-II. RUDOLPH. MACHINE PoR MEASURING AND CUTTING OII LENGTHS 0F FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 16. 1905.

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UNITED sTATns PAEENT Omron l JOSEPH B. OBRYAN, JR., AND OTTO H. RUDOLPH, OF NASHVILLE,

TENNESSEE.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1906.

l Application filed October 16, 1905. Serial No. 282,976.

To @ZZ whom it 11i/ay concern;

Be it known that we, J OsEPH B. OBRYAN, Jr., and OTTO H'. RUDOLPH, citizens of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Measuring and Cutting Off Lengths of Fabric, of which the following is a specification. l

Our invention relates to improvements in machines for automatically measuring and cutting off predetermined lengths of elastic or non-elastic fabric or other material, as will be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and specifically set forth in the claims.

. The object of our invention is to provide an improved and novel mechanism whereby the fabric or material employed may be cut into uniform lengths with ease, accuracy, and rapidity.

To this end our invention consists, essentially, of a power-driven mechanism wherein the fabric or material to be operated upon is drawn into a feedway and automatically fed therethrough to secure predetermined lengths of said fabric or material, which is cut off by a rotary cutter moving in unison with the feeding mechanism to .accomplish the desired result.

Our invention further consists of the various details of construction and in the general arrangement of parts, as fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts, and in which- Figure 1 represents an end vlew of a ma chine embodying the essential features of our invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof with parts broken away to more clearly show the construction. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is a vertical crosssection of the feed-guideway, and Fig. 5 is a top plan view ofthe same.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the machine comprises a rectangular base or table 1, preferablymounted upon suitable legs or supports 2 at each end of the same, the feedmechanism and the rotary cutting-knife being located near one end or left-hand side of the rectangular base or table, while the oscillating frame carrying the rotary knife is journaled near its rear end between supports projecting upwardly from the opposite end or right-hand side of the base or table, as shown, the powereshaft being journaled at each end in bearings in the legs or supports 2 and provided with a powerpulley near one end thereof, said shaft being also provided with a large pulley on the right-hand side which communicates motion, through a suitable belt, to a smaller pulley j ournaled in the rear side walls of the oscillating frame carrying the rotary knife to impart motion to the same, said shaft being also further provided with a small pulley adjacent to the power-pulley which communicates motion, through a suitable belt, to a pulley arranged upon a short shaft located beneath the feed-mechanism Opening, said shaft carrying the spur-toothed feeding-wheels, and a cam movement on each side thereof adapted one to actuate the ejector for the goods operated upon and one to raise and lower the rotaryknife, all as will be hereinafter more fully described in detail and the operation thereof fully set forth.

The feed mechanism comprises a guideway 3, having a flaring open mouth 4 at each end and provided with a correspondingly-shaped lid or cover 5, the lid or cover having an open space or slot 6 adjacent to the rotary knife for the passage therethrough of the free end lof the oscillating ejector 7, asshown in Figs.

4 and 5. The guideway 3 has an open bottom and fits upon the surface of the base' or table l directly over two narrow slots in the base or table and through which the spurtoothed feed-wheels 8 8 slightly project to move the fabric or material through the guideway. Each of the spur-wheels 8 is removably attached to the small shaft 9, which .is

j ournaled in bearings 10, secured to the under I surface of the base or table 1. The length of the pieces fed through the guideway and cut oif by the rotary knife is determined by the diameter of the feed-wheels 8, which length maybe varied by the employment of different-sized feed-wheels to meet the necessary requirements.

The cutting-off mechanism comprises the rotary knife 11, which is adapted to continually rotate when the machine is in opera tion and to move up and down in close contact with the rear open mouth or dischargeopening 4 of the guideway 3. The rotary knife l1 is centrally attached to the outer end of the shaft l2, which runs freely in bearings IOO ' an open space in the counterbalanced end 16 with a small pulley 20, to which motion is imparted through the belt 21, passing around the same and around the large pulley 22 on the power-shaft 23 to rotate the small shaft 19, which carries on its front end a beveled gear 24, meshing with a similar gear 25 on the shaft 12, carrying the rotary knife 1 1, thereby imparting a continuous motion to the same when the machine is in operation.

Upon the front end of the open head 14 of the oscillating frame 15 is provided an eXtension-rod 26, which works up and down in a slotted guideway 27 as the oscillating frame 15 moves up and down, the outer end of said extension-rod connecting by a rod 28 with a projection on disk 29, secured to the end of a small shaft 30, journaled in bearings 31, secured to the under surface of the base or table 1. In order to have as little accumulation of the fabric in the open mouth or discharge-opening 4 as possible, we have increased the speed of the upward movement of the knife 11 and decreased its speed on the downward or cutting motion by setting the shaft 30 in line with shaft 9 horizontally, but slightly back of the same. The rotation of shaft 30 is secured by means of the link 32, connecting the same and the shaft 9, which is driven by the pulley 33 on one end of the same, communicating, by means of the belt 34, with the pulley 35 on the power-shaft 23.

An oscillating ejector 36, composed of a short rod having a curved picker-finger at one end and a small crank at its opposite end, is journaled in a fixed bearing 37 on the upper surface of the base or table 1, immediately adjacent to the rotary knife 11, the said ejector deriving its motion from a connecting-rod 38, attached to the crank on the end of the same and to a similar crank 39 on the end of the shaft 9 below, the curved finger of the ejector being adapted to enter the slot 6 in the cover of the feed-guideway to push the end of the fabric or material from under the said cover inposition to be cut off by the rotary knife with each rotation of the connecting-rod38.

A shearing-plate 40, provided with an upwardly-projecting arm or guide 41, is bolted to the rear upper edge of the base or table 1, immediately in the rear of the rotary knifeblade, which serves to guide said blade and assist it in the cutting or shearing action of the same.

Near one end orleft-hand side of the powershaft 23 of the machine is provided a loose power-pulley 42, which is adapted to receive a suitable belt connecting with a pulley on the shaft which supplies power to the machine. This pulley 42 is provided with the projection 43, which is adapted to engage with a similar projection 44 on the fixed pulley 35 when the clutch 45 is operated by the foot-treadle 46 to cause the two pulleys 42 and 35 to rotate together and impart motion to the several operative parts of the machine, the spring 47, attached to said foot-treadle, serving to disconnect said loose pulley from the CfiXed pulley to stop the machine when desire In the operation of our improved machine the roll of fabric or material 48 is first adjusted upon the extension-arm 49, projecting outwardly from one of the legs or supports of the base or table 1, and the loose end 50 of` the fabric or material carried up and pushed into the flaring mouth or receiving-opening 4 of the guideway 3 of the feed mechanism. Power then being applied to the machine through the medium of the foot-treadle 46, the rotation of the feed-wheels 8 8 carries the fabric along in said guideway until the end of the fabric is in position to be cut off, and simultaneously therewith the ejector pushes the length of fabric outwardly to receive the cutting action of the downwardly-descending knife-blade to sever the fabric in the predetermined length. This operation is repeated at pleasure, and the measured lengths of the fabric as they pass through the guideway are ejected therefrom and cut off by the rotary knife in a most rapid and effective manner. i

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isd

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination with an adjustable feed and guide, of a verticallyreciprocating .rotary knife, and means for operating the same, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination with an adjustable feed and guide, and an ejector therefor, of a verticallyreciprocating rotary knife and means for operating the same, substantially as described.'

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination with an adjustable feed and guide, an ejector therefor, and an oscillating frame, of a vertically-reciprocating rotary knife, and means for operating the same, substantially as described.

4. In a machine of the .character described, the combination with the feed guideway, the feed -wheels operating therein, and an ejector, of an oscillating frame carrying a vertically-reciprocating rotary knife provided IOO IIO

IIS

with means for giving the same a quick upward motion, and a downward sloW motion, and means for operating the same, substantially as described.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination With the feed mechanism, comprising a guideway having a flaring open mouth at each end, one or more feed-Wheels slightly projecting above the bottom of said guideway, andan oscillating ejector adapted to project into the guidevvay, of a verticallyreciprocating rotary knife journaled in the open head of an oscillating frame, and means for operating said feed mechanism and the rotary knife, substantially as described.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination with the feed mechanism, of an oscillating ejector having one end provided With a curved picker-finger, and the opposite end With a crank communicating With a similar crank on the end of the feedmechanism shaft, by means of a connectingrod, and means for operating said feed-mechanism shaft, substantially as described.

7. In a machine ofthe character described, an oscillating counterbalanced frame, having a centrally-located shaft provided With a pulley near its rear end, and With a bevelgear at its opposite end adapted to mesh with a similar gear upon a shaft journaled in the head of the oscillating frame; said shaft carrying a vertically-reciprocating rotary knife upon its outer end, and said oscillating frame having an extension upon its forward end adapted to move in a slotted guideWay, in combination with means for operating said oscillating frame and its rotary knife, substantially as described.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination with the feed mechanism, the oscillating ejector and the vertically-reciprocating frame carrying the rotary knife, of the shafts arranged in line horizontally beneath the feed mechanism, and means for operating said shafts, substantially as described.

9. A machine 0f the character described, comprising a feed mechanism, a guideWay and ejector operating in connection therewith, and a vertically-reciprocating rotary knife adapted to operate in unison with the feed mechanism and ejector, and means for operating the several parts, substantially as described. l

In testimony whereof We afiiX our signatures in presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

JOSEPH B. OBRYAN, JR. OTTO II. RUDOLPH. Witnesses:

H. W. MYNDER, I. G. OBRYAN. 

